A short 20 years ago, two-thirds of the Canadian population held at least a “somewhat” if not “very favourable” impression of politicians. Today that view is shared by only a slightly larger number than believe Elvis is still alive. While this kind of statistic invariably brings a mild chuckle to Allan Gregg’s audiences, there is a larger and much more somber, cautionary tale that the pollster and social commentator will be bringing to the Canadian Club on May 20.
When Canadians lose faith in their elected leaders and come to believe that their governments are incapable of serving as an agency of positive public good, as is the case today, we lose our capacity for ethical debate and discourse. We run the risk of becoming a society that progressively cascades towards meaninglessness. Social problems that we acknowledge, and often abhor, are accepted as part of our community landscape and we retreat from our duties of citizenship to an ever smaller circle of insularity.
Drawing on almost 30 years of public opinion data, contemporary and classic philosophy, as well as his own experience as an “insider” in public life, Allan Gregg will speak to an issue that is central to our well-being as a society, yet rarely finds its way into current political debate – are our attitudes undermining the very institutions and society that we value the most?
